Front-End Clunk/Rattle - 2020 Ram Rebel

[Mavvie]

Hi all,

Long time lurker, first time poster....

2020 Ram Rebel, and I experience a bit of rattle/clunk somewhere in the front suspension.

Symptoms:
1.) Only hear/notice it at slow speeds. Up to ~25mph it seems to be most audible.
2.) Potholes/small bumps/bumpy roads when it's apparent. Never notice it on smooth roads.
2.) Cannot recreate by rocking the truck back and forth, at all - and i've rocked the sh*t out of it.
4.) Cannot decipher whether it's the left or the right side, specifically. Seems to be both, but not sure.

Attempted Fixes:
1.) I have replaced both sway bar end links with part #68399868ad. Mopar end links.
2.) I have replaced both sway bar bushings. Got them from NAPA, not sure of the brand/model but it was verified by the staff to fit the 2020 RAM front sway bar (in retrospect, probably should've measured myself, but they seemed to have fit perfectly.)

That was ~1.5 years ago, and the noise has been back for a couple of months now - just haven't gotten around to looking yet. Took it to the dealer before the aforementioned fixes and they found nothing at the time.

I assume that I should probably re-torque a handful of bolts on both sides, where might one find the torque-specs for the control arms/end links/etc? Not sure what might be next on this troubleshooting adventure but certainly open to ideas or something else to look for while I have the wheels off in the next couple days...

TYIA!

 

[kapinallinen2]

Hi all,

Long time lurker, first time poster....

2020 Ram Rebel, and I experience a bit of rattle/clunk somewhere in the front suspension.

Symptoms:
1.) Only hear/notice it at slow speeds. Up to ~25mph it seems to be most audible.
2.) Potholes/small bumps/bumpy roads when it's apparent. Never notice it on smooth roads.
2.) Cannot recreate by rocking the truck back and forth, at all - and i've rocked the sh*t out of it.
4.) Cannot decipher whether it's the left or the right side, specifically. Seems to be both, but not sure.

Attempted Fixes:
1.) I have replaced both sway bar end links with part #68399868ad. Mopar end links.
2.) I have replaced both sway bar bushings. Got them from NAPA, not sure of the brand/model but it was verified by the staff to fit the 2020 RAM front sway bar (in retrospect, probably should've measured myself, but they seemed to have fit perfectly.)

That was ~1.5 years ago, and the noise has been back for a couple of months now - just haven't gotten around to looking yet. Took it to the dealer before the aforementioned fixes and they found nothing at the time.

I assume that I should probably re-torque a handful of bolts on both sides, where might one find the torque-specs for the control arms/end links/etc? Not sure what might be next on this troubleshooting adventure but certainly open to ideas or something else to look for while I have the wheels off in the next couple days...

TYIA!

I bought this to T.S. my front end clunk.
Amazon.com

 

[Sascwatch]

I’ve replaced sway bar bushings and end links a few times on both my 2020 rebel and 2022. The last time I replaced them the clunking/rattling noise did not go away.

I am waiting on a pass through socket to arrive from Amazon to tighten the centre strut bolts slightly as they turn quite easily with a normal socket, but the shaft just spins.

I have narrowed it down to either the front cv axles or the centre strut bolts which are Bilstein 5100’s so I have to rule them out first before visiting the dealer.

 

[Mavvie]

I bought this to T.S. my front end clunk.
Amazon.com

I never knew such a thing existed. Interesting!

 

[firemedic10584]

I’m here because I’m having a similar clunk in my front end on my 2023 Laramie. I’ve also got the Bils 5100s up front set at 2.1. I’m going to re-torque everything Saturday since I never did it after having the kit installed almost a year ago. I’ve taken it to the dealer and of course they say they don’t feel anything / it’s normal.

 

[firemedic10584]

Just following up with this - I went back and rechecked/tightened anything that was taken apart when I did the Bilstein 5100s. My noise did seem to decrease, but I do still occasionally hear/feel the clunk. I just changed my sway bar bushings out with the red ones from Amazon I saw a lot of people say fixed their clunk. I don't have any feedback on that yet since I just did swap them out and hour or so ago and haven't driven yet. I'll update once I get a chance to see if it changed anything.

 

[r_pittman47]

There’s a good chance that the rattling sound is coming from the CV Shafts. I have a 2019 Sport with 60 000 kms on it now. At about 20-30 000 kms I started noticing it. Brought it to the dealer and they said it was the sway bar and links. I knew it wasn’t as I told them it was coming from the Axles. The rattling sound that I was hearing was the same sound if you were to get under the truck and move up and down on the axles. Fast forward to a few years later. I have aftermarket links and it’s still there. Brought it back to the dealer again and they said they would replace my front diff and both front axles. Still waiting as it is on back order.

 

[2020 Rebel]

There’s a good chance that the rattling sound is coming from the CV Shafts. I have a 2019 Sport with 60 000 kms on it now. At about 20-30 000 kms I started noticing it. Brought it to the dealer and they said it was the sway bar and links. I knew it wasn’t as I told them it was coming from the Axles. The rattling sound that I was hearing was the same sound if you were to get under the truck and move up and down on the axles. Fast forward to a few years later. I have aftermarket links and it’s still there. Brought it back to the dealer again and they said they would replace my front diff and both front axles. Still waiting as it is on back order.

What was the outcome of this for your truck ?? VERY interested as my 2020 Rebel now has this clunk and its nothing to do with the front sway bar. I removed the front swaybar and then went for a test drive last night and the clunk is still there. Oddly it handles/tracks better on slower up to 55 MPH country back roads with a LOT less side to side head toss. Any way it is not the sway bar or sway bar bushings. I DID shake my front axle shafts at the inner and outer cv's and the noise seems to be coming from the outer cv's. The exact slow speed, metal to metal contact, clunk I started hearing at about 15K miles. My rig is stock minus a DAYSTAR 1" front puck lift KC09145BK. The noise was there before and after the front 1" lift.

 

[Ram-esque]

Hi all,

Long time lurker, first time poster....

2020 Ram Rebel, and I experience a bit of rattle/clunk somewhere in the front suspension.

Symptoms:
1.) Only hear/notice it at slow speeds. Up to ~25mph it seems to be most audible.
2.) Potholes/small bumps/bumpy roads when it's apparent. Never notice it on smooth roads.
2.) Cannot recreate by rocking the truck back and forth, at all - and i've rocked the sh*t out of it.
4.) Cannot decipher whether it's the left or the right side, specifically. Seems to be both, but not sure.

Attempted Fixes:
1.) I have replaced both sway bar end links with part #68399868ad. Mopar end links.
2.) I have replaced both sway bar bushings. Got them from NAPA, not sure of the brand/model but it was verified by the staff to fit the 2020 RAM front sway bar (in retrospect, probably should've measured myself, but they seemed to have fit perfectly.)

That was ~1.5 years ago, and the noise has been back for a couple of months now - just haven't gotten around to looking yet. Took it to the dealer before the aforementioned fixes and they found nothing at the time.

I assume that I should probably re-torque a handful of bolts on both sides, where might one find the torque-specs for the control arms/end links/etc? Not sure what might be next on this troubleshooting adventure but certainly open to ideas or something else to look for while I have the wheels off in the next couple days...

TYIA!

I went through about all the front end issues with my 19 ram rebel (75k miles & leveled) pretty recently and now it is all as good as or better than the stock ride. From my experience, the "rattling" noise comes when the end links get loose and start moving around on the mount holes of the sway bar when hit with a load, also would make sense if the end links are legitimately wore out making similar noise but i haven't dealt with that specifically. The clunking seems to happen when the sway bar bushing are wore out and the sway bar starts alternating the load between the 2 ends of its range with nothing to hold it firmly in one place so it just bangs back and forth inside the bushings. You probably already know this from reading this site, but the 2 easy fixes for this are the energy suspension bushings( Amazon.com ) and the suspensionmaxx end links ( For stock ride height - Stock Sway bar links 2019+ RAM 1500 with 19 MM sway bar nut (SMX-1319) :: SuspensionMAXX ) both products seem to be a solid upgrade over stock from my experience. The end links are expensive at $169 but you can then rebuild them for about the same price as the OEM end link costs when they wear out, i am very happy with mine. The stock design end links for whatever reason on my 19 rebel would tend to get loose over time and make noise simply from not being tight enough anymore and moving around on the sway bar mount hole when id hit a bump, this specific issue can be mostly solved by using some locktite on the end links connecting to the sway bar. Working through the problems with mine, i opted to upgraded to the suspensionmaxx links and it was noticable improvement, it seemed to help the front end relax and absorb the right to left articulation with much more grace and less on edge when hitting bumps. If you wanna just keep it simple and cheap, your plan of retightening everything is exactly where id start, just add locktite to the sway bar/end link connections and buy some of the energy suspension bushings and use the grease because id bet your bushings are already wore out since its been 1.5 yrs. If you have a lift or level that seems to make the sway bar bushing wear out faster because the stock sway bar is under a more constant bind than it should be in, hence why the suspensionmaxx links were a noticable ride improvement over stock end links with a level on my truck.

 

[2020 Rebel]

I went through about all the front end issues with my 19 ram rebel (75k miles & leveled) pretty recently and now it is all as good as or better than the stock ride. From my experience, the "rattling" noise comes when the end links get loose and start moving around on the mount holes of the sway bar when hit with a load, also would make sense if the end links are legitimately wore out making similar noise but i haven't dealt with that specifically. The clunking seems to happen when the sway bar bushing are wore out and the sway bar starts alternating the load between the 2 ends of its range with nothing to hold it firmly in one place so it just bangs back and forth inside the bushings. You probably already know this from reading this site, but the 2 easy fixes for this are the energy suspension bushings( Amazon.com ) and the suspensionmaxx end links ( For stock ride height - Stock Sway bar links 2019+ RAM 1500 with 19 MM sway bar nut (SMX-1319) :: SuspensionMAXX ) both products seem to be a solid upgrade over stock from my experience. The end links are expensive at $169 but you can then rebuild them for about the same price as the OEM end link costs when they wear out, i am very happy with mine. The stock design end links for whatever reason on my 19 rebel would tend to get loose over time and make noise simply from not being tight enough anymore and moving around on the sway bar mount hole when id hit a bump, this specific issue can be mostly solved by using some locktite on the end links connecting to the sway bar. Working through the problems with mine, i opted to upgraded to the suspensionmaxx links and it was noticable improvement, it seemed to help the front end relax and absorb the right to left articulation with much more grace and less on edge when hitting bumps. If you wanna just keep it simple and cheap, your plan of retightening everything is exactly where id start, just add locktite to the sway bar/end link connections and buy some of the energy suspension bushings and use the grease because id bet your bushings are already wore out since its been 1.5 yrs. If you have a lift or level that seems to make the sway bar bushing wear out faster because the stock sway bar is under a more constant bind than it should be in, hence why the suspensionmaxx links were a noticable ride improvement over stock end links with a level on my truck.

Must be two different noises coming from two different places ??+sway bar issue, and half shaft CV play issues?

Because I will tell you this I completely removed my sway bar AND the clunk noise was still there!!!.... How's the sway bar plays into this....?? I believe worn out sway bars, end links and frame bushings, could exacerbate the play clunk rattle noise that the front CV half shafts exhibit? Because that vibration from worn out sway bar stuff is going to travel through the control arms and want to be absorbed somewhere probably at the unit bearing and that throws the half shafts up and down violently with the play that the worn sway bar Parts exhibit. My 2020 Rebel only has 22K miles on it. I'm going to replace the front sway bar end links to see if it quiets the noise some? As the ball sockets at the end of both end links could exhibit ball socket play under driving load, not detectable under static troubleshooting, that exacerbates the CV half shaft rattles. We shall see

 

[scottmoyer]

Another clunk in the front end that has recently been found is related to the body mounts. A few of us get a clunk over uneven roads, going over speed bumps, etc. There's a couple posts now with new part numbers to replace the 4 front body mounts. This resolved my clunk observed since new.

 

[Ram-esque]

Must be two different noises coming from two different places ??+sway bar issue, and half shaft CV play issues?

Because I will tell you this I completely removed my sway bar AND the clunk noise was still there!!!.... How's the sway bar plays into this....?? I believe worn out sway bars, end links and frame bushings, could exacerbate the play clunk rattle noise that the front CV half shafts exhibit? Because that vibration from worn out sway bar stuff is going to travel through the control arms and want to be absorbed somewhere probably at the unit bearing and that throws the half shafts up and down violently with the play that the worn sway bar Parts exhibit. My 2020 Rebel only has 22K miles on it. I'm going to replace the front sway bar end links to see if it quiets the noise some? As the ball sockets at the end of both end links could exhibit play under driving load that exacerbates the CV half shaft rattles. We shall see

My issues were all related to upper control arm /sway bar, thank fully. Lookin like there is just a lot more problem points for those clunks and rattles than i thought. And yea, i think that could absolutely be partially to blame. I haven't had any cv related clunk, but the last few days i've noticed a buzzing sort of noise when turning slow speeds, like pulling into a parking space speed that kinda sounds like a worn inner cv connection, but haven;t actually torn it apart yet, hoping its my tires lol. I have heard about the body mount issue also but i haven't had the noise so i haven't looked at my body mounts yet.

 

[H2OMAN]

Ball joints?

 

[Wnghks701]

Mine was lower control arm ball joints and tie rod end. Lift the car up and pry your tire up and down and see if you hear it.

 

[2020 Rebel]

How many

Mine was lower control arm ball joints and tie rod end. Lift the car up and pry your tire up and down and see if you hear it.

How many miles on your truck when they went bad ?

 

[Wnghks701]

How many

How many miles on your truck when they went bad ?

I’d say around 90k. I thought it was the axle, so I had it replaced under warranty. But noise was still there and finally got it fixed at around 105k. I did LCA and UCA first and noise was still there and I replaced toe rod ends and noise was resolved.